Baptism Gift

Unique christening gifts for baby's baptism

Baptisms and christenings are among the most important events in a new baby's life. Both religious and secular families hold special events to celebrate the baptism or naming of the child, and it is common for friends and relatives to offer baptism gifts to mark the occasion.

Good baptism gift ideas depend largely on the values of the family hosting the event; if they are affiliated with a particular church or denomination, then religious baby baptism gifts are in good taste. If they're casually involved with the church or secular people, the challenge becomes finding unique christening gifts to give to the newborn.

Creative Baptism Gifts

In the Catholic Church, baptism is one of the seven sacraments, and as such, it is typically honored with a religious memento. Many people give baptism books to babies, so that they can read about the importance of the event when they get a little older. Another popular gift is a photo with an engraved frame; if you like, you can also add a Bible verse to the frame to underscore the spiritual significance of the occasion.

If you have a preference for the type of baptism gifts you would like your child to receive, find a polite way of indicating this on the baptism invitations you send out to the people you are planning to invite to the event. A note on etiquette: baptism gifts are typically optional. It is best if you phrase any such requests you're going to make on the invitations to reflect the voluntary nature of gift-giving at the baptism reception.

Baby Christening Gifts

Christening gifts are typically given when nonreligious families celebrate the naming of their new son or daughter. As such, they do not have the same kind of religious significance associated with many traditional baptism gifts. Inexpensive yet creative choices include personalized christening mugs, baby photo albums, trinket boxes, christening candles and plaques. If you're the child's godfather or godmother and want to splurge a little bit, a nice piece of silvery baby jewelry, or a gift intended for when the child gets a little older, is also a time-honored idea.